


fear is the heart of love

by ailiyasneski



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eddie dies, Fix-It, Heavy Angst, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-31 12:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20793884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ailiyasneski/pseuds/ailiyasneski
Summary: “Eddie?” Richie’s voice broke. “Come on, Eds, get up,”“Richie, honey..Eddie’s dead.” Richie goes to ignore Bev as his grip around Eddie’s shoulders tightened.“No, no, he’s fine. Come- come on guys, we have to get him to safety,” he stuttered. “He’s fine, he’s fine, don’t worry,”





	fear is the heart of love

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah this took about an hour an a half to write and i don’t regret it

“Eddie?” Richie’s voice broke. “Come on, Eds, get up,” 

“Richie, honey..Eddie’s dead.” Richie goes to ignore Bev as his grip around Eddie’s shoulders tightened. 

“No, no, he’s fine. Come- come on guys, we have to get him to safety,” he stuttered. “He’s fine, he’s fine, don’t worry,” 

It’s lair started to shake and crumble around the Losers, and Mike was the first to take action. “Everyone, we have to go. Now.” 

“No, no no not without Eddie,” 

“They’re nothing we can do, Rich,” Ben put a hand on his shaking shoulder, starting to pull Richie away from Eddie’s cool body. He shrieked like Bill had the plague. 

“Get off! I’m not leaving him!” As Ben and Mike grabbed him and pulled him away, Richie fought back with every bit of energy he had left. “Eddie!” His voice broke. “Eddie! Please, guys- Eddie, please, no!” 

Bill was the first one crawling into the hole, desperate to get out of the last place his brother was alive. Bev was next, escaping the dark lights that once held her captive. Ben crawled through next, following his true love; Richie still screamed for the love he wasn’t ready to leave behind. In a final desperate attempt, Richie slammed his head into Mike’s throat, causing the grip on his torso to let go. Richie made a run for it. 

“Damnit, Richie- guys!” Mike called to the others, but Richie couldn’t care less. His eyes only saw Eddie lying motionless on the ground. He slowed to a halt, a pitiful smile across his face as he looked at Eddie. The world crumbled around them, but Richie’s was being put back into place. 

“Hey there, Edwardo,” He whispered. Eddie’s eyes stared blankly at nothing. “I’m gonna get you out of here, yeah? You’re gonna be fine,” he grunted as picked him up bridal style, running to the exit. “I got him! Guys, I got him!” 

“What the fuck, Richie?!” He heard Bill’s voice from the other side, and all he could do was keep running. 

Mike was waiting for them, dodging falling rocks and skeletons. “You’re a dumbass, you know that?” He yelled over the rumbling. 

“He has a chance!” Richie screamed back. He crawled through the hole, and waited for Eddie to follow. Then he remembered Eddie was passed out. Not dead. No, passed out. “Gimme a hand, Mikey!” Suddenly, Eddie’s body was being pushed through quickly; Richie took hold of him quickly. He stayed while Mike crawled through, than as they ran out of Neilbolt. The house collapsed behind them. 

It was all over. It was gone. 

A wave of relief fell over the Losers, before guilt and pity seeped in. They all looked at each other, than at Richie. He was sitting on the ground, Eddie’s corpse in his body. Once, the man would’ve complained how sunny it was. ‘You know you can get skin cancer, right?’ The sun’s rays shined on his skin, but there was no complaining now. 

“Eddie,” Richie’s voice broke the silence. It was small and shaky. “Hey, buddy, it’s Richie, You’re safe now, it’s okay,” 

Beverly was the first to break; she kneeled beside him. “Richie,” She tried to console, but didn’t know what to say. 

“He’s fine,” His voice cracked, tears starting to slip. “It’s dead, Bev. He’s okay, right? He’s okay now.” So confident, yet so broken. 

“He deserves a p-proper b-b-burial,” Bill muttered. 

“He’s not dead!” Richie yelled, glaring up at Bill. “Stop saying he’s dead, he’s not dead!” 

“Richie, look at him!” Bill snapped back. 

“Guys-” Bev tried to escalate in vain. Richie gently placed Eddie into Beverly’s arms (not that she wasn’t going to take him) before getting in his face. 

“You didn’t know him like I did! Were you there when his mother almost kicked him out for forgetting to pick up his meds? Or when he had anxiety attacks because he had the flu and he thought he was gonna die? Huh, did you Bill?” He pushed Bill back. Bill did the same. It reminded everyone of that one summer. 

A punch here, a punch there. Mike and Ben tried to break it up, but to no avail. Richie hit, and Bill took it. The final straw came when Richie went to punch, and Bill suddenly grabbed his fist and put his other hand around Richie’s wrist.

“We did everything we c-can. The most we can do n-now is let him rest p-p-peacefully,``he whispered. 

Richie broke. 

He fell forward into Bill’s arms, sobbing into his shirt. His glass dug into his nose, and his hands shook inside Bill’s, but it didn’t matter. Bill rubbed his back; Richie sobbed even harder. Ben and Mike joined in, wrapping Richie into a bear hug. 

Bev watched gingerly, feeling a sort of pity for Richie. He’d been through so much, probably more than he’d told her when they were children, and now he’s got to go through losing the love of his life. Everyone knew it to. Suddenly, there was a movement from Eddie’s body. She whipped her head to look at Eddie, who’s bodyw as now giving off small shallow breaths. 

“Guys,” She awed. When no one heard, she said it louder. “Guys, he’s breathing,”

Everyone looked over. Richie didn’t at first, seemingly unaware of the sudden movement around him. Bill nudged him, and then Richie was rushing to Eddie’s side. 

“Someone call 911!” He sputtered, hoping someone had their phone on hand. 

“Got it,” Beverly replied, already on the phone. 

“Hey, hey, I got you, Eds,” Richie pulled Eddie back onto his lap, taking his hand and squeezed it. “It’s gonna be okay,”

Eddie’s hand gave a weak squeeze in return. 

~~ 

When Eddie awoke, he was in a white room in a white bed. He blinked, ridding his eyes of hazing sleep. The more awake he became, the more he realized he was in a hospital room. The smell of disinfectants and sound of monitors was somewhat a comfort after all this time. 

The next thing he became aware of was that he was lying in a hospital bed, an IV in his arm, and he could see outside the door. He could see a nurse talking to Bill and Beverly. The Losers were here. 

The final thing he became aware of was the soft snoring coming from someone else in the room. He glanced around for the source, smiling softly when his eyes landed on Richie. He had crammed himself into one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs. He had bags under his eyes, his skin paler than normal, and Eddie didn’t even want to think about how much weight Richie seemed to have lost. Richie was muttering something (possibly Eddie’s name), and it made Eddie chuckle at the idea of Richie forcing his way into his hospital room. 

“Eddie?” He asked groggily, rubbing his eyes. 

“Who else would it be, trashmouth?” Eddie teased before starting to cough. Richie was quick to action. 

“Hey hey, take it easy there cowboy. You almost died out there,” 

After his coughing subsided, Eddie looked sadly into Richie’s eyes. “I did, Richie, didn’t I?” 

Richie paled. “W-What do you mean, Eds? You just lost some blood, nothing a good ol’ bandage can’t fix!” His fake smile only made Eddie feel worse. 

“It’s okay, Richie. I’m okay now,” He spoke softly, as if speaking loud would break the other man. Tears formed in Richie’s eyes, but he smiled. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
